Since 2024, BIRN has monitored digital rights developments in ten countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.
To ensure the monitoring framework remains relevant and responsive to evolving digital rights challenges, a new methodology was developed in 2024 that has been implemented from September 2024. This builds on previous monitoring efforts while incorporating emerging digital rights violations, ensuring a comprehensive and systematic approach to documenting abuses in the online space. By continuously tracking incidents, BIRN provides crucial insights into how digital rights abuses evolve over time and how they may influence future policies and regulations.
The methodology groups digital rights violations into seven umbrella categories, applying a human rights-based approach:
- Freedom of expression and media
- Freedom, pluralism of information and protection from manipulation
- Personal data protection and security
- Digital civic participation and engagement
- Technological access and equity
- Threatening behaviour and harmful content
- Economic rights and digital asset protection
The methodology reflects BIRN’s commitment to media freedom, rule of law, transparency, transitional justice, internet freedom and victims’ rights. Find out more here: https://monitoring.bird.tools/
The new website was created and maintained with the financial support of the European Union, as part of the Reporting Digital Rights and Freedoms project. Its content is the sole responsibility of BIRN and does not necessarily reflect the views of the EU.